{"id":2505,"date":"2025-11-10T13:32:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T13:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/d-orbit-partners-with-the-mhackeroni-for-europes-first-in-orbit-cybersecurity-capture-the-flag-competition\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T13:32:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T13:32:10","slug":"d-orbit-partners-with-the-mhackeroni-for-europes-first-in-orbit-cybersecurity-capture-the-flag-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/d-orbit-partners-with-the-mhackeroni-for-europes-first-in-orbit-cybersecurity-capture-the-flag-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"D-Orbit Partners with the mhackeroni for Europe\u2019s First In-Orbit Cybersecurity Capture-the-Flag Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"D-Orbit<\/p>\n

D-Orbit<\/strong>, a leader in space logistics and orbital transportation, announced the successful conclusion of CTRL+Space CTF, Europe’s first in-orbit Capture-the-Flag (CTF) cybersecurity competition, and the world\u2019s first live CTF involving multiple satellites. The event was organized in collaboration with mhackeron<\/span>i, one of Europe’s leading ethical hacking teams and multiple-time world CTF champions, with the support of the ESA Security Cyber Centre of Excellence (SCCoE) and the ESA Security Office. <\/p>\n

The event\u2019s grand finale took place on November 4-6, at ESA ESTEC (European Space Research and Technology Centre) in the Netherlands, during the Security for Space Systems (3S) Conference, where five teams competed in unprecedented live cybersecurity scenarios aboard a real operational spacecraft. <\/p>\n

Capture-the-Flag is a cybersecurity competition where participants attempt to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in computer systems to capture digital “flags,” which serve as proof of successful exploitation. CTRL+Space CTF is the first to use a real spacecraft operating in orbit as the target system. <\/p>\n

As the first initiative of its kind led by a private European company, CTRL+Space CTF brought together the cybersecurity and space communities to address one of the most critical challenges facing the growing space economy: protecting orbital infrastructure from cyber threats. \u201c<\/em>Cybersecurity<\/em> has become a fundamental pillar of the new space economy,\u201d <\/strong>said <\/strong><\/em>Grazia <\/strong><\/em>Bibiano<\/strong><\/em>, D-Orbit’s Portugal Country Leader.<\/strong> \u201cAt <\/em>D-Orbit<\/em>, we integrate it from the very first design stages because security cannot be an add-on; it must be built into the DNA of every system we send into orbit.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cProtecting space infrastructure is one of the most complex engineering challenges of our time,\u201d said <\/strong><\/em>Davide Avanzi<\/strong><\/em>, D-Orbit Head of Space and Product Security.<\/strong> \u201cBy adopting a \u2018security-by-design\u2019 approach, we ensure mission resilience, data integrity, and trust in the space services of the future.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Also Read: Security in Space: Intelsat Cybersecurity<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n

“The space environment poses unique issues to the development of engaging challenges,” said Daniele Lain at mhackeroni.<\/strong> \u201cThis one-of-a-kind event helps us understand how more conventional vulnerabilities and exploits can translate to satellite environments and their limitations. Players were faced with complex scenarios mirroring real-world systems, up to \u201cfull-chain\u201d attacks compromising simulated ground stations to reach and take control of the software of the satellite.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

“Cybersecurity protection of space missions is not an option,” said <\/strong><\/em>Antonios Atlasis<\/strong><\/em>, Head of System Security Section at TEC Directorate of<\/strong><\/em> ESA<\/strong><\/em>.<\/strong> \u201cThe successful implementation and execution of <\/em>Ctrl+Space CTF<\/em> not only provided the unique opportunity to students from all over Europe to compete on cybersecurity challenges implemented in real satellites, but it also proved that the implementation of <\/em>cybersecurity<\/em> protection measures in satellites is possible, even for the most challenging security scenarios. We would like to thank <\/em>D-Orbit<\/em>, the mhackeroni team, and all the contributors and participants in this great event.”  <\/em><\/p>\n

The competition attracted significant interest from the cybersecurity community. 559 teams registered for the qualifiers, 299 teams solved at least one challenge, and 660 correct flags were submitted across the 25 qualifier challenges prepared by the mhackeroni team. <\/p>\n

The final event saw the following figures:  <\/p>\n

    \n
  • 3 IONs actively used <\/li>\n
  • 63 passages used during the event <\/li>\n
  • 7 IONs provided telemetry <\/li>\n
  • 15 in-orbit exploits were executed <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The teams faced realistic mission scenarios specifically designed to test their ability to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in space systems. Thanks to the flexible architecture of D-Orbit\u2019s ION Satellite Carrier and the robust security measures implemented by the company, all scenarios were executed in a secure, fully controlled environment, completely isolated from the satellite\u2019s commercial mission. <\/p>\n

    The five teams competing were: ENOFLAG, Superflat, RedRocket, CzechCyberTeam, and PoliTech. Superflat secured first place after three days of intense competition.  <\/p>\n

    Participants competed in challenges involving: <\/p>\n

      \n
    • Solving security-related scenarios, such as interpreting real telemetry data and sending command sequences to an actual spacecraft. <\/li>\n
    • Using the spacecraft data to understand the spacecraft’s attitude and orbital position, which is information critical for satellite control and operational decisions. <\/li>\n
    • Interacting with onboard software to uncover and exploit potential vulnerabilities. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The unique challenges of the space environment, from autonomous systems operating in extreme conditions to limited computational resources, communication delays, and increasingly interconnected spacecraft, make cybersecurity a foundational pillar of the future space economy. CTRL+Space CTF reflects D-Orbit\u2019s commitment to tackling these challenges and contributing to the creation of a secure, resilient orbital infrastructure essential for tomorrow\u2019s space services. <\/p>\n

      \n

      Also Read Latest D-orbit News<\/h4>\n
        \n
      • <\/i>Anvil Secure and D-Orbit Announces the White Paper on Satellite Mission Security<\/li>\n
      • <\/i>D-Orbit: Powering the Future of Space Logistics and Sustainable Orbital Operations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        D-Orbit, a leader in space logistics and orbital transportation, announced the successful conclusion of CTRL+Space CTF, Europe’s first in-orbit Capture-the-Flag (CTF) cybersecurity competition, and the world\u2019s first live CTF involving multiple satellites. The event was organized in collaboration with mhackeroni, one of Europe’s leading ethical hacking teams and multiple-time world CTF champions, with the support of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[26,20],"class_list":["post-2505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-ground","tag-satellite"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2505"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2505\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}